Latest news with #HaibatullahAkhundzada
Scoop
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Afghanistan: Taliban Restrictions On Women's Rights Intensify
1 May 2025 The mission continued to receive reports that Afghan women are being denied the opportunity to join the workforce, are unable to access services without a male relative while girls are still deprived of their right to education. Since the Taliban took over the country from the democratically-elected Government in August 2021, women and girls have been systemically excluded from equal participation in society, the report confirms. UNAMA, whose mandate includes monitoring human rights, also reported public floggings, shrinking civic space, and brutal attacks on former government officials. Beauty salons shuttered Officials have reportedly shut down beauty salons run by women in their homes and women's radio stations in various provinces, UNAMA said. In the province of Kandahar, de facto inspectors asked shopkeepers in a market to report women unaccompanied by a guardian (mahram) and deny them entry into their shops. At one hospital, authorities ordered staff not to provide care to unaccompanied female patients. Forced conversions Taliban authorities have also increased enforcement of repressive restrictions on media outlets, ramped up corporal punishment, and the clampdown on religious freedom and re-education. Between 17 January and 3 February, in Badakhshan province in northeastern Afghanistan, at least 50 Ismaili men were taken from their homes at night and forced to convert to Sunni Islam under the threat of violence, the report details. More than 180 people, including women and girls, have been flogged for the offences of adultery and practicing homosexuality during the reporting period, in public venues attended by Taliban officials. Taliban claim support for women's rights Despite documented evidence from the report that de facto authorities are continuing to violate international norms and rights protections, Taliban officials disagree. 'Ensuring the dignity, honor, and Sharia-based entitlements of women remains a paramount priority for the Islamic Emirate,' Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a social media post on March 8, International Women's Day. 'All fundamental rights afforded to Afghan women have been safeguarded in strict accordance with Islamic Sharia law, as well as the cultural and traditional frameworks of Afghan society,' he added. International legal action UNAMA has called for action to restore women's and girls' rights at the international level. In January, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Taliban Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqan over persecution on gender grounds, a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute. The Taliban rejected the ruling, citing national sovereignty and religious traditions.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Afghan men's hair and beards are under scrutiny by Taliban, UN says
A strict Islamic morality law introduced by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers six months ago has severely muzzled civil liberties in the country, according to a new UN report released on Thursday. The law on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice (PVPV) was brought into force in August 2024 on the instruction of the Taliban's supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada. The law is reminiscent of one in place during the Taliban's first stint in power in the 1990s, and implements an Islamic civil and moral code in the country. Among other things, it stipulates that women must cover their entire bodies, including their faces, and may not travel without a male companion. However, the law has also increasingly targeted men's hairstyles and beard lengths, with more than half of the arrests made in the first six months concerning men's appearances, the report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) showed. "Afghanistan's de facto authorities use [the PVPV] to ensure their vision of a pure Islamic system is implemented nationwide," the report said, emphasizing that the law has limited women's and girls' access to public spaces and health care, dress code and travel. The law has also prevented UN agencies and other non-profits from delivering services to millions of people across Afghanistan, the study, mandated by the UN Security Council, said. Around 3,300 male "inspectors" are now deployed in 28 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, 540 in the capital province of Kabul alone, the report said. These inspectors have extensive powers, including the right to detain individuals for up to three days and to destroy property such as musical instruments. Few women are employed as inspectors, the study said. In addition to the serious impact on human and women's rights, the report also highlights the economic consequences of the Taliban's measures, pointing to a World Bank study which puts the economic losses of work and education bans for women at around $1.4 billion. Both women and men told UNAMA that the law "deprived families of their incomes, exacerbated poverty and forced families to consider migration." "The direct and indirect socio-economic effects of PVPV law implementation are likely to compound Afghanistan's dire economic and humanitarian situation," the report stated.
Bloomberg
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
The Long Road to Justice for Afghan Women
For Afghan women, who feel deserted by the international community as their lives have been crushed under the brutal rule of the Taliban, there may finally be a potential avenue for justice. We should welcome International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan's decision to apply for arrest warrants for the Taliban's Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, who he says bear criminal responsibility for the persecution of Afghan women and girls. The list of violations is extensive, and includes murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence and enforced disappearances.
